World Neurosurg
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Multicenter Study Observational Study
High serum sCD40L during the first week of malignant middle cerebral artery infarction and mortality.
Higher circulating soluble cluster of differentiation 40 ligand (sCD40L) levels at admission of an ischemic stroke have been found in nonsurvivor than in survivor patients. The objectives of this study were to determine whether serum sCD40L levels during the first week of a severe malignant middle cerebral artery infarction (MMCAI) are higher in nonsurvivor than in survivor patients and whether they could be used as biomarker of mortality prediction. ⋯ The findings that nonsurvivors showed higher serum sCD40L levels during the first week of MMCAI than did survivors and that serum sCD40L levels during the first week of MMCAI could be used as a mortality predictor biomarker are 2 novel findings.
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Review Historical Article
Wounds in the head from Kitāb al-Dhakhīra fī 'Ilm al-Ṭibb by Thābit b. Qurra in the 9th century.
Kitāb al-Dhakhīra fī 'Ilm al-Ṭibb is one of Thābit b. Qurra's most noteworthy books on medicine in Arabic in the ninth century. This study aims to present and discuss the section subtitled "wounds in the head" in the 24th chapter of Kitāb al-Dhakhīra considering the information in the literature. ⋯ Kitāb al-Dhakhīra presents interesting knowledge regarding wounds in the head, reflecting the medical paradigm of that era.
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Venous collaterals form because of occlusion of the superior sagittal sinus (SSS), thus preserving venous drainage. Previous studies have focused on the evaluation and protection of sinuses and cortical veins and have neglected the collaterals between the SSS and deep venous system, which are important for surgical planning. We aimed to study the venous compensatory patterns inside and on both sides of the cerebral falx (parafalx) in patients with meningioma invading the SSS. ⋯ In meningiomas invading the SSS, especially with complete posterior SSS occlusion, the parafalcine collateral veins and falcine sinus should be evaluated preoperatively to avoid iatrogenic injury.
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Review Case Reports
Non-resectable thoracic Rosai-Dorfman disease: a case report and review of the literature.
Rosai-Dorfman disease (RDD) is a rare disease that can be triggered by either viral or bacterial infection. Several parts of the body can be involved, from the central nervous system to the pelvic regions had been reported. At present, there is a serious lack of guidelines as to how to treat cases of RDD involving the spine. Current trends show that surgery remains the first method of choice to cure this disease, but in refractory or recurrent RDD, repeat surgery cannot guarantee total resection. Under such circumstances, adjuvant therapy can be very useful. Here, we share our experience of treating recurrent spinal RDD. ⋯ RDD is a rare disease and can be misdiagnosed easily. Although it may resolve spontaneously, recurrence is possible. Hence, extensive follow-up is necessary. Surgery remained the first choice of surgery, however, when encountered recurrent or nonresectable RDD, adjuvant therapy such as corticosteroids, thalidomide, and radiotherapy could help. In this article, we shared our experience using thalidomide in treating nonresectable RDD.
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The flexion of the skull base (basal angle [BA]) is the inclination between the anterior fossae and the basilar ramp of the occipital and sphenoid bones. An increased BA, termed platybasia, is usually associated with basilar invagination. BA reference values in the magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) era and the diagnosis of platybasia are of clinical importance. The transnasal approach has been the surgical technique of choice to remove the odontoid process in cases of ventral brainstem compression in patients with platybasia. The knowledge of normal BA values has been influenced by technological image acquisitions. The aim of this study was to determine the normal BA values in normal subjects in the MRI era. ⋯ Platybasia can be defined as a value >129 from the basal angle.